Trailer—The Girl from Chicago

The Girl from Chicago_720p(480P)

source: The Girl from Chicago

This was almost like watching a home movie. I mean that in a couple of ways, the first of which relating to the things many have pointed out about the film, that its acting is poor, the editing is choppy, the lighting is awful, and simple things like framing a shot without chopping part of a head off is surprisingly challenging. I also mean it in the sense that it was simply not made for me, sitting at great distance from it in every sense of the word, 91 years later. It was representing an audience at a particular time, and I also can't ignore the constraints Oscar Micheaux was under. I feel I should tread lightly in my criticism, but should also be honest to be viewing experience, and how little I enjoyed this. The highlight for me was a little conversation around a table where one of the characters related a story about a black man being imprisoned on a trumped up charge so that he could be used as free labor, a second form of slavery that was highly relevant to the audience in 1932, and to some extent still true to this day. I also liked the shift to Harlem midway through the film, because the nightclub performances felt so much more authentic and breathed some much needed life into the film, but even they are not of a quality to make me recommend checking them out. It was very slim pickings here, and a tough way to spend 70 minutes.

In reviewing African-Americans on film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now in 1932 where independent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux has made another of his "race movies" for release in various segregated theatres around the country. This one mainly concerns the romance between a crime fighting agent named Alonzo White (Carl Mahon) and Norma Shepard (Starr Calloway) and their involvement in proving one Mary Austin's (Eunice Brooks) innocence in the murder of a Harlem "banker" named Gomez (Juano Hernandez in his film debut). Also appearing are Grace Smith as Liza Hatfield and Alice B. Russell-who is Micheaux's wife-as Miss Warren. Now, despite some amateurish scenes due to both the early talkie techniques and Micheaux's skills not to mention many sappy romantic dialogue between Alonzo and Norma, this was still a pretty entertaining thriller thanks to the shooting I mentioned and some later scenes concerning White and Ms. Smith. And there were also some pretty entertaining musical interludes especially when the latter herself performed a number. And who would have guessed this Juano Hernandez would eventually appear and earn critical acclaim in such major pictures like Intruder in the Dust and The Pawnbroker. So on that note, The Girl from Chicago is worth a look.

A good looking cast of black actors struggles to make it through this movie that looks like the rehearsal was filmed, without the actors really given a chance to get to know their characters and put effort into giving a performance. It's definitely a struggle for the viewers 90 years later to comprehend what's going on, with the dialogue on the page not translating to a story, or at least one that the viewer can pick up on. Certainly it's effort to rise above the budget, and there are some great uses of locations. But, having seen all of Paul Robeson's films made during early 30s, it's obvious that the writer and director of this did not look at those to get an idea of what a good all black film should look like. It will be a struggle for even the most patient of film students to sit through this, especially since all the lines are recited like a second grader reading their Dick and Jane book aloud in class.

Girl is helped by a federal agent in her troubles with a gang boss. Creaky and tough to watch for technical reasons film by Oscar Micheaux the first of the African American filmmakers. Micheaux's early sound films are a real mixed bag that were mostly of the point and shoot variety. Its due of course to the technical limitations of early sound equipment so People huddle close together at tables and talk, musical numbers seem to be filmed from the doorway in a night club, there is no camera movement. Its like watching a movie filmed in a closet. If you can get past the limits of the craft of the film, the movie is still a tough haul. The plot is pure potboiler, complicated by the limitations of the film-making which make this very talky film with very little motion. Its not very good and not really worth bothering with. Actually the sole reason to see the film is the musical sequences which are interesting from a historical perspective since they document what entertainment was like in nightclubs of the day. Unless you're interested in historical or musical curios I'd take a pass.

Having a shoestring budget, The Girl From Chicago could not afford the top black actors and experienced technicians. Nor could it afford the luxury of the directors yelling cut and reshooting scenes. But the film has heart and is entertaining. An important note is that the film must be seen for its historical value as it demonstrates an early black writer and director's struggle and determination to produce exciting black films. I love the positive images of blacks along with its villains. In Girl From Chicago, there are brave black heroes determined to bring the villains to justice. There are charming black women from small towns and gangster's girlfriends from the big city (One of the gangster's girlfriends is a frustrated masochist who can't get sexually aroused unless a man beats her.)

Carl Mahon (Alonzo White) is a Federal secret agent who goes to Mississippi on a case, meets and falls in love with Star Calliway (Norma Sheperd) and rescues her from the evil local bigshot John Everett (Jeff Balinger). They then go to Harlem and get involved in the murder of the Cuban head of the numbers racket (Vano Hernandez as Gomez). A patchy script and minimal production values can make the movie hard to follow. The sound track is typical of early talkies, with the actors stopping to talk at the camera. Mainly interesting for the music and dance acts, especially the chorus line and the dance duo in a nightclub and as a view of the black acting style of the period.

The Girl from Chicago (1932) * 1/2 (out of 4) Secret Agent Alonzo White (Carl Mahon) finds himself in Mississippi where he meets a woman named Norma (Starr Calloway). The two hit it off but the only problem is that a local gangster is also after the woman. After some drama Alonzo and Norma run off to Harlem where more trouble waits for them. Oscar Micheaux's THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is a complete and utter failure. There's really no other way to look at it but you can certainly understand because, let's face it, the 30s just weren't a good time for race films. Most black filmmakers were working on extremely low budgets and more times than not they had to use non-actors for the roles. This here will explain why this film has some of the worst performances that you'll ever see and also some of the worst cinematography that you'll ever see. There are many shots in the film where the actor's heads are cut off. The awful framing is something that I thought might have been an issue with the print I was viewing but I compared two different prints and it was like that on both. As I said, the performances are beyond bad and it's so bad at times that it almost feels like the actor is trying to ruin the film by making their performance so bad. Apparently Micheaux knew it as well as there are a couple times where you can actually hear him directing the cast members? Look around the twenty-two minute mark and you can hear him off camera directing. There's also another sequence where you can see him in a mirror directing. As I said, THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is technically very poorly made and the performances are awful. This here pretty much kills any chance for a good movie. The story itself is your typical mystery and it's not overly bad but there's just not much Micheaux could do.